Liberation of Palermo

The Liberation of Palermo (21-22 July 1943) was a battle fought between George S. Patton's US 7th Army and several Axis units in western Sicily during World War II. Patton's army raced to capture the city of Palermo and drive the German and Italian forces towards Messina, and Palermo was taken after what war correspondents described as "token resistance".

Background
The capture of Palermo had been a part of General George S. Patton's own plan to take Sicily, which had been formulated a few months earlier during the North African campaign. Patton wanted to land at Palermo and take the city, but the British general Bernard Montgomery insisted that this would lead to the Allied forces being divided, and Montgomery instead had the Americans land at the Gulf of Gela in the south to protect the British Army's left flank as they advanced on Catania and Messina from Syracuse. Patton was forced to carry out this plan, and his men were forced to bear the burden of facing heavy Axis resistance in the mountains while the British pushed towards Catania. Patton had his chance to shine when Montgomery decided to send the US II Corps to take the mountain roads rather than the Vizzini-Caltagirone Road, which was to be transferred to the Britissh Army's area of operations. This freed up several of Patton's divisions, and he decided to ignore orders and take Palermo.

Battle
Patton's US 7th Army advanced up the coast and through the mountains, facing little opposition at first. The British general Harold Alexander ordered Patton to halt his advance, as the British were facing heavy resistance and were in need of help, but Patton claimed that the telegraph had been garbled while in transmission; he told his aide to request another telegram, buying him two days' time. Patton's army advanced towards Palermo, and the 7th Army Provisional Corps overran the Ragruppamento Schreiber unit of German and Italian troops on 21 July 1943, also destroying the Aosta and Assietta divisions of the Royal Italian Army. Patton also had to fight against the Hermann Goering Division, one of the toughest divisions of the German Wehrmacht. The Americans were ultimately able to make a breakthrough, and the Americans triumphantly entered Palermo on 22 July 1943.